WITH a UEFA Cup final place beckoning, Steve McClaren last night claimed his Middlesbrough players were just 90 minutes away from the greatest achievement in the club's 130-year history.

Four days after their FA Cup dreams were dashed at the hands of West Ham, the Teessiders have the opportunity to make instant amends when Steaua Bucharest visit the Riverside tonight.

Last week's 1-0 defeat in Romania has left McClaren's men with a mountain to climb but, as this month's sensational second-half comeback against Basle proved, they are hardly averse to performing the most arduous of uphill tasks.

A two-goal victory this evening would guarantee Middlesbrough a place in next month's UEFA Cup final in Eindhoven, banishing the memory of Sunday's domestic setback at Villa Park.

And, while the club has previously reached FA Cup and Carling Cup finals, the chance to play for a European trophy would eclipse anything achieved in the past. That this season's UEFA Cup final comes almost 20 years to the day after Boro were relegated to Division Three only heightens the sense of history being re-written.

"You're talking about a European final and that's a massive deal," said McClaren, who was Sir Alex Ferguson's number two when Manchester United reached the Champions League final in 1999. "Before you can even get into a competition like the UEFA Cup, you have to have achieved something the preceding season.

"You qualify automatically for both the Carling Cup and the FA Cup. With the UEFA Cup, you have to have been successful before you can even kick a ball.

"Then, you have to play against all the top teams from a variety of leagues. You're joined by teams from the Champions League and you have to play 15 games to win it. It's one hell of a schedule.

"Just getting to this stage has been a magnificent achievement. It would be the greatest achievement in the history of Middlesbrough if we were to go on and get to the final."

Should they do that Boro would complete an English double that has not been achieved since 1985.

It is now 21 years since English sides last appeared in the finals of two European competitions in the same season - Everton won the Cup Winners' Cup and Liverpool lost in the European Cup final - but after Arsenal's heroics on Tuesday night, the Teessiders can bring even more glory to the English game.

Given the resilience and commitment shown by the Gunners, McClaren could be forgiven for taking a leaf out of Arsene Wenger's book as he attempts to plot Middlesbrough's eighth European victory of the season.

Instead, the favourite to succeed Sven-Goran Eriksson as England boss is urging his players to follow in the footsteps of Champions League losers Villarreal.

The Spaniards dominated the second leg of their semi-final, only to finish empty-handed when Jens Lehmann saved Juan Roman Riquelme's penalty in the 89th minute. Their patience and persistence, though, clearly struck a chord.

"Patience will be the key word for us," said McClaren. "Villarreal's situation was similar to ours and patience was the key word for them.

"I know they didn't make it but they were nearly rewarded for that patience with two minutes to go. You think about what might have been had they scored that penalty and you would have put good money on Riquelme putting it away.

"It was how I expected that game to go and maybe how ours will go as well. We learned a lot. This game is not going to be won or lost in the first 20 minutes.

"We have to be patient from first minute to last. We have to make sure we defend and keep a clean sheet, then we have to create chances like Villarreal did. The only difference is we will have to take ours."

If that suggests this evening's game will not be another rip-roaring encounter in the mould of the Basle game, the statistics do not exactly back McClaren up.

Steaua have scored seven goals in their last three European away games and coach Cosmin Olaroiu insists his side are not about to rest on their laurels.

More ominously, the Romanian champions have only conceded twice in their five UEFA Cup away games to date, a tally that will have to be at least doubled if Middlesbrough are to win without the help of a penalty shoot-out tonight.

"We've seen enough to know that Steaua are a good team," said the Boro boss.

"There are no great stars but they are well organised and very hard to break down. They don't concede many goals and their record away from home is very good.

"It will be a high-tempo game. Bucharest have had experience in Europe and I don't think anything we do will be a surprise to them."

Nevertheless, McClaren remains confident his players possesses both the talent and the temperament to succeed in tonight's game.

Sunday's defeat, which was sustained despite Boro bossing the majority of the match, inflicted a bitter blow to a side who have already played 24 cup games this season. But the despair that engulfed the Middlesbrough dressing room should act as a considerable motivating force tonight.

If one semi-final defeat hurt, McClaren will suggest that a second would be just about unbearable.

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